Nipah Virus

Henipavirus is a genus of the family Paramyxoviridae, order Mononegavirales containing two members, Hendravirus and Nipahvirus.

It is unlikely that Nipah virus is easily transmitted to man, although previous outbreak reports suggest that Nipah virus is transmitted from animals to humans more readily than Hendra virus.

In January and February 2004, 47 people in Bangladesh became infected with Nipah virus in two outbreaks; 35 of them died.

A previously unrecognized paramyxovirus , now called Nipah virus, was implicated by laboratory testing in many of these cases.

Nipah virus has been shown to cause clinical disease in swine and humans as well as serologic changes in several common farm animals and in various bat species.

In February the Nipah virus reemerged, killing 35 people in Bangladesh in two outbreaks.

Samples from hospital workers were negative for Nipah virus antibodies.

This page is dedicated to Paramyxoviridae including Nipah Virus, Hendra Virus, Equine Morbillivirus, Lyssavirus and Menangle virus.

The outbreak was contained by the mass culling of>1 million pigs, and since then, no other outbreaks of Nipah virus have been reported in Malaysia.

The function of the G protein is to attach the virus to the surface of a host cell via ephrin B2, a highly conserved protein present in many mammals.

Nipah virus is a newly recognized zoonotic virus.

During March 1999, health officials in Malaysia and Singapore, in collaboration with Australian researchers and CDC, investigated reports of febrile encephalitic and respiratory illnesses among workers who had exposure to pigs.

Although members of this group of viruses have only caused a few focal outbreaks, the biologic property of these viruses to infect a wide range of hosts and to produce a disease causing significant mortality in humans has made this emerging viral infection a public heath concern.

Roughly a third of those in Malaysia and Australia harbor antibodies against the infections, suggesting that the bats and viruses evolved together.

A second outbreak occurred in August 1994 in Mackay 1000km north of Brisbane resulting in the deaths of two horses and their owner.

The virus subsequently was imported to Singapore via live pigs, and 11 more industry workers died.

Adding to the mortality rate for Nipah virus infection is that there is no known cure for it.

The henipaviruses are naturally harboured by Pteropid fruit bats and are characterised by a large genome, a wide host range and their recent emergence as zoonotic pathogens capable of causing illness and death in domestic animals and humans.

Many victims in Bangladesh, however, had no direct contact with animals, and no infected domestic animals were seen.

No new cases of febrile illness associated with Nipah virus infection have been identified in Singapore since March 19, 1999, when abattoirs were closed.

As of April 27, 1999, 257 cases of febrile encephalitis were reported to the Malaysian Ministry of Health , including 100 deaths.

Because 90% of the infected people in the 1998-1999 outbreak were pig farmers or had contact with pigs, pigs were tested for the virus and found to be infected.

It first appeared in 1998 in Malaysia, where it caused significant damage to the local swine industry as well as the loss of over 100 human lives.

As there is no evidence of transmission to humans directly from bats, it is thought that human infection only occurs via an intermediate host.

An outbreak in Bangladesh in April 2004 is ongoing and is being watched carefully; according to news sources, infection has been confirmed or is suspected in at least 29 people, and 25 have died.

Unlike its first appearance in Malaysia in September 1998, the virus in Bangladesh may have jumped from person to person, raising concern about its ability to spread farther and faster.

The mode of transmission from animal to animal, and from animal to human is uncertain, but appears to require close contact with contaminated tissue or body fluids from infected animals.

Reported by: Vector-Borne Disease Control Section, Disease Control Div, Institute for Medical Research, Ministry of Health; Dept of Medical Microbiology; Univ Hospital; Univ of Malaya; General Hospital, Kuala Lumpur; Seremban Hospital, Seremban; Ipoh Hospital, Ipoh; Institute of Veterinary Research, Veterinary Svc, Ministry of Agriculture, Malaysia.

Although the number of victims is small, the deaths have health officials worried.

Researchers who study infectious diseases worry that there are more lethal viruses in animals that might be transmitted to humans.